Description of the profession

Career specialists, including career counsellors, career information specialists, school career co-ordinators, partly also personnel specialists, are providing career services. Career professionals support youth and adults in making decisions about studies and jobs, by helping the clients to acquire career managament skills.

The aim of the career counsellors’ work is to help and support people in career planning, including in making decisions about choosing a profession, work, training and education, developing job search skills and forming an effective personal career planning style. The services are provided as face-to-face and distant sessions on an individual or group basis. In addition to direct service provision, career counsellors are developing the methodology, and collect and analyze the feedback from clients. Informing the public about the career services is a substantial task, including organising respective events.

More widely used official titles include career counsellor, guidance specialist, career adviser.

Career information specialists help to fulfil the target groups’ need for information concerning education, labour market and professions. Career information specialists working in larger centers and development offices are providing career information for different target groups like youth, teachers, and career professionals, informing the public about the services, manage the network needed for the provision of services and develop methodologies and databases. They deliver career lessons, instruct clients’ career information search, compile printed materials, manage information flows and co-operation with relevant networks, organise thematic events, conduct client satisfaction surveys etc.

Career co-ordinator’s tasks include co-operation with other service providers and class teachers, supporting subject teachers in the implementation of the cross-curricular theme, organisation of site visits and, in some cases, delivery of an elective subject on career education. In many cases, it is often an additional task of an individual staff member to be responsible for the co-ordination of the career management activities at school.

Consultants working in recruitment and consulting companies mainly provide careers counselling (both on outplacement and career development purposes), coaching and competency assessment, also negotiating with employers. As support services they usually also offer career and training information, tests etc. In addition, they provide career development services for managerial staff or specialists as part of their work.